Is the gym a good place to find love?

I have always debated on places that are considered to be ‘good’ when finding a potential new partner. Some common places would include work places, the super market, private parties, a friend of a friend, online social networking/ dating sites and night clubs. Everyone reading this would have definitely met an ex or a current partner through one of those mediums, but lets talk about one of my favorite places to meet a potential future partner, lover, date, one night stand. 😐

The Gym

When i first started going to the gym some 10 years ago, my prime goal was (and still is) to exercise to get results with minimum distractions. That would mean less chit-chat with regular gym buddies and those beings that i do love ever so much (to an extent). WOMEN! Now the chit chat with other male buddies is an easy thing to not get distracted by, especially if your gym buddies have a similar ‘results driven’ attitude towards working out as you do, as at some point during the session everyone goes off and does their own thing. But if you attend a commercial gym, then the chances are really high that you will meet women.

Now i’m not just talking about normal women here. These ladies would be toned, shaped, fit, have sex appeal or any other positive words you want to use to describe them. In the outside world they may have a tendency to hide their bodies. As i mentioned in a previous post, if they are of a slim build and don’t flaunt what they’ve got, you would never know that they possess those lovely curves. But this is not the outside world, this is the gym, everything is on display and women will flaunt it (sometimes to impress the male species).

From personal experience, that is all one big distraction that i find hard to deal with when going to the gym with a hard core ‘results driven’ mentality. So i tend to stick to local gyms where everyone there has the results driven mentality…and nothing else but that. Now I’m not saying working out along side women or in a commercial gym is a bad thing, but one needs to determine there goals before choosing what gym they go to. It’s usually one of the two:

Now that we have that established…lets get back to the burning question.

Can you find love in the gym?
Of course you can find love in the gym, I know i have stated that i generally have a ‘results driven’ mentality. But if I’m going for an all round session (gym, swim, sauna) then a top notch commercial gym it will be. I get to socialize, relax, learn from others, use better equipment and meet ladies (sorry…i refuse to turn that switch off). Studies have shown that Some 75 per cent of women and 84 per cent of men say that the gym is a great place to pick up a date. And i agree. But why is this?

Show you what I’ve got (i see you looking…ever so discretely)

Now i would consider myself to be quite educated in the ‘reading peoples body language’ department, and after all these years, i can definitely say both sexes will show off to get each others attention. This happens every day/ everywhere in the outside world, but in the gym it really is in your face. The showing off has definitely caught my attention in the past, and probably will in the future to, but i have also been known to flaunt it at times too (i like to play the game to :P). Which ever sex does this..one thing this does do (assuming there has been no ‘aural’ communication as yet) is give incentive for that gym goer to keep coming back. Then they may find themselves purposely going to the gym on days they know they will both be there. Body language plays its part here, words eventually get exchanged…skip the nitty gritty details, and hey presto…you got a date!

Like minded

The gym is a great place to meet not just beautifully sculpted individuals…but to meet people with the same mind set at yours. This is why you could meet a potential partner, not just a date (like night clubs), as we all know… a good relationship is based more on compatibility of personalities rather than looks alone. Similarities to point out would be:
– both health conscious
– both results driven individuals
– both have a strong appreciation for presentation and appearance

Surely, the gym can’t be that good of a dating place, otherwise every one would be there?

That’s right, no one place in the world is good for every one, the gym included. Many women wouldn’t date men that approach them at the gym, they may see it as out of place. Although some women state that they don’t mind it as long as common sense is used, such as not approaching them in the middle of a set. Some women wouldn’t date a guy at the gym as they may think guys use the gym as a pick up place (some men do) and think ‘ OK, this guy is hitting on me today, who was he hitting on yesterday?’ But it’s all down to the individual, and for me, the gym is still a better place to meet someone than say a night club, as every one there (men and women) tend to be there for one thing.(I’ll let you figure that one out ;))

I would love a woman’s version of this. So if there any women readers here do drop me a line in the comments section.

Stay tuned. Part 2 ‘Finding Love at the gym Do’s and don’ts’ is up next!